In bloom in April

Daffodil

Yellow trumpets on verges, in parks and in woodland, the common sign of spring across Europe and North America.

See also: Paperwhite, Wild daffodil

Poppy anemone

Red, purple and white flowers of the eastern Mediterranean. In southern Israel the red fields draw walkers in February.

See also: Poppy anemone

Hyacinth

Dense, heavily scented spikes in spring beds and pots, and on the Nowruz table in Iran.

See also: Garden hyacinth

Grape hyacinth

Short spikes of tight blue beads, planted in ribbons under tulips and along paths.

Tulip

Bulb fields and park beds in spring, from the Netherlands and Istanbul to Srinagar. Wild tulips flower on Central Asian hills.

See also: Water-lily tulip, Tulipa linifolia

Persian buttercup

Tightly layered flowers like small peonies, grown in striped fields for the cut flower trade and in spring pots.

See also: Meadow buttercup, Mount Cook buttercup

Freesia

A South African corm with a sweet, peppery scent. Common in florists' bunches and in mild-climate gardens in spring.

Snake's head fritillary

Nodding, chequered purple bells in damp meadows. A few old English flood meadows still hold them in thousands.

See also: Kamchatka fritillary, Fritillaria persica

Crown imperial

A tall stem with a ring of orange or yellow bells under a tuft of leaves. Wild on slopes in Iran and Turkey.

Bluebell

A blue haze on the floor of old woods in Britain and Ireland, just before the tree leaves close over.

See also: Spanish Bluebell

Lily of the valley

Small white scented bells in shade. In France sprigs are given on the first of May.

Arum lily

A white funnel around a yellow spike. It grows wild in wet ground in South Africa and is a florist staple elsewhere.

See also: Calla lily

Clivia

Orange trumpets above strap leaves in deep shade. A South African forest plant and a common house plant elsewhere.

See also: Bush lily

Pink trumpet tree (tabebuia)

Pink flowers cover the bare crown in the dry season, in Central America and on avenues in Bengaluru.

See also: Tabebuia, Pink trumpet tree

Golden trumpet tree (yellow ipê)

A leafless tree turned solid yellow at the end of the dry season. A late winter sight in Brazilian towns.

See also: Golden trumpet tree, Pink trumpet tree

Palash (flame of the forest)

Orange-red flowers on bare branches across the dry forests of central and eastern India, around the time of Holi.

Kachnar (orchid tree)

Pink, mauve or white orchid-like flowers on a small tree in north Indian streets and gardens. The buds are cooked.

See also: Hong Kong orchid tree, Amherstia

Ashoka

Bunches of orange and red flowers on a small evergreen tree, planted near temples in India and Sri Lanka.

Indian coral tree

Claw-shaped scarlet flowers on bare, thorny branches at the end of the dry season, across South Asia and the Pacific.

See also: Indian coral tree

Tree rhododendron (burans)

Red flowers on whole Himalayan hillsides in spring. Nepal's national flower, and pressed into a drink in Uttarakhand.

Magnolia

Large pink and white goblets on bare branches in early spring, in gardens and city streets.

See also: Campbell's Magnolia, Magnolia sieboldii

Peach blossom

Deep pink blossom in orchards and on cut branches. A spring and New Year symbol in China and Vietnam.

Apricot blossom

White to pale pink blossom in mountain valleys such as Ladakh and Hunza, where it marks the end of winter.

See also: Apricot

Redbud

Small magenta flowers straight off the bare twigs and trunk, along woodland edges in eastern North America.

Cherry blossom

Clouds of pale pink for a week or two. The front moves north through Japan from late March, with picnics under the trees.

See also: Almond, Apricot

Orange blossom

Small white waxy flowers with a heavy sweet scent, filling citrus towns such as Seville in spring.

See also: Tachibana orange, Satsuma mandarin

Copper pod

Upright sprays of yellow flowers that carpet the pavement below. A common avenue tree in Indian and Southeast Asian cities.

Apple blossom

Pink buds opening white in orchards, from Normandy and Kent to Himachal and Washington State.

See also: European Crab Apple

Flowering dogwood

Four white or pink bracts, which are petal-like leaves, on a small woodland tree of the eastern United States.

See also: Pacific dogwood, Kousa dogwood

Paulownia (empress tree)

Upright clusters of pale violet, foxglove-like flowers on bare branches. Native to China and long planted in Japan.

See also: Paulownia

Horse chestnut

White flower spikes, often called candles, standing up all over a big park tree in late spring.

Jacaranda

Violet-blue trees and fallen petals along the streets of Pretoria, Sydney and Buenos Aires in spring, and Mexico City and Lisbon.

Amaltas (golden shower tree)

Long hanging chains of yellow flowers in the hottest weeks before the monsoon. Kerala's Vishu flower and Thailand's national flower.

Gulmohar (royal poinciana)

A wide, flat crown covered in scarlet in the hot season. From Madagascar, now on streets across the tropics.

See also: Delonix, Illawarra flame tree

Pride of India (jarul)

Upright sprays of crinkled mauve flowers on a roadside tree in India and Southeast Asia, from the hot season into the rains.

Golden wattle

Australia's national flower: bright yellow balls at the end of winter. Wattle Day is the first of September.

See also: Sydney golden wattle, Golden wattle

Kowhai

Hanging yellow flowers on a small New Zealand tree in early spring, visited by tui and other nectar birds.

See also: Kōwhai

African tulip tree

Clusters of orange-red cups at the top of a tall tree. From tropical Africa, planted across warm cities.

Camellia

Glossy evergreen bushes with red, pink or white flowers from late winter. The flowers drop whole.

See also: Camellia reticulata, Camellia amplexicaulis

Winter heath

A low alpine heather with pink bells that flowers through snow, from the mountains of central and southern Europe.

See also: Cross-leaved Heath

Gorse

Spiny bushes covered in yellow, coconut-scented flowers on heaths and cliffs. Some is in flower in almost any month.

Flowering quince

Red, coral or white cups on thorny bare stems early in spring. Cut branches are used in East Asian arrangements.

Forsythia

Bare stems covered in yellow before the leaves. The first bright colour of spring in Korea and across temperate gardens.

Azalea

Low bushes hidden under pink, red and white flowers in spring, in Japanese temple gardens and the American South.

See also: Azalea

Lilac

Heavy, sweet-scented cones of mauve or white on old garden bushes for two or three weeks in spring.

See also: Common Lilac, Persian lilac

Rhododendron

Big trusses of flowers on evergreen shrubs in woodland gardens, and wild on Himalayan and Chinese mountainsides.

See also: Catawba rosebay, Common rhododendron

Damask rose

The rose of rose water and rose oil, picked at dawn in Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran and around Taif in Saudi Arabia.

Bottlebrush

Red brushes of stamens at the branch tips. Australian, and common in parks across India and the Mediterranean.

See also: Melaleuca

Pincushion

Round orange and red heads of stiff curved styles, on shrubs of the South African Cape. A long-lasting cut flower.

See also: Leucospermum, Red pincushion-protea

King protea

South Africa's national flower: a bowl of pink bracts as wide as a dinner plate, on Cape mountain slopes.

See also: Bot River protea, Protea

Hellebore (Lenten rose)

Nodding flowers in plum, pink, cream and green that last for weeks in shade from late winter.

See also: Christmas rose

Pansy

Flat faces in purple, yellow and white. A cool-season bedding flower, through winter in mild places and the Indian plains.

See also: Sweet Violet, Wild Pansy

Rapeseed (canola)

Whole landscapes of yellow in spring, in Europe, in Luoping in China, on Jeju in Korea, and on the Canadian prairies in summer.

Forget-me-not

A mist of tiny blue flowers with yellow eyes under tulips and along streams.

Bleeding heart

Rows of pink heart-shaped lockets on arching stems in spring shade.

See also: Bleeding heart

Moss phlox (shibazakura)

A ground-hugging mat of pink, white and mauve. Japanese parks plant whole hillsides of it, some with Mount Fuji behind.

See also: Garden phlox, Phlox

Baby blue eyes (nemophila)

Small sky-blue cups. A Californian wildflower, sown by the million on the hills of Hitachi Seaside Park in Japan.

See also: Baby blue eyes

Primrose

Pale yellow flowers in a low rosette on banks and in open woods, among the first wildflowers of the European spring.

See also: Japanese primrose, Primula sieboldii

Wood anemone

White stars that carpet old European woodland in early spring and close when the sky clouds over.

See also: Wood anemone

Daisy

The small white and yellow lawn flower of Europe, out for most of the growing season and made into chains by children.

See also: Leucanthemum, Fleabane

California poppy

Silky orange cups that cover hillsides in southern California after a wet winter. They close at night and on dull days.

Texas bluebonnet

A short blue lupin that lines Texas highways and fills pastures in spring. The state flower.

See also: Texas bluebonnet, Bluebonnet

Black iris

A very dark purple, almost black iris of rocky ground in Jordan, where it is the national flower.

See also: Black Iris

Dandelion

Yellow discs that turn meadows and verges gold in spring, then become round seed heads.

See also: Common dandelion

Pasqueflower

Furry purple bells with gold centres on chalk and limestone grassland around Easter.

See also: Pasqueflower, Small Pasque Flower

Cowslip

Clusters of small, deep yellow bells on one stalk in old meadows and on road banks in Europe.

See also: Marsh-marigold

White trillium

Three white petals over three leaves on the floor of eastern North American woods in spring. Ontario's emblem.

See also: Toadshade, Pacific trillium

Kangaroo paw

Furry red and green tubes shaped like a paw, on tall stems. Part of the spring wildflower season in Western Australia.

See also: Kangaroo paw

Hibiscus (gudhal)

Wide red flowers that last a day, on hedges all year in the tropics. Offered to Kali and Ganesha. Malaysia's national flower.

See also: Rose of Sharon, Blue mahoe

Ixora

Tight round heads of small red or orange stars on a clipped hedge. In flower through the year in the tropics.

See also: Ixora

Crossandra (kanakambaram)

Light, scentless orange flowers strung into hair garlands in South India, often together with jasmine.

Madagascar periwinkle (sadabahar)

Pink or white five-petalled flowers on a small plant that never seems to stop. Its Hindi name means always in spring.

See also: Lesser Periwinkle, Madagascar periwinkle

Yellow oleander (peeli kaner)

Yellow funnels among narrow leaves on a roadside shrub. Offered to Shiva in India. All parts are poisonous.

Peacock flower

Red and yellow flowers with long red stamens on a light, open shrub. The national flower of Barbados.

See also: Tigridia pavonia, Tigridia

Heliconia

Stacked red and yellow bracts like lobster claws among banana-like leaves, in the wet forests of tropical America.

See also: Kaka beak, Heliconia

Anthurium

A glossy red heart with a pale spike. A tropical American plant, grown for cut flowers in Hawaii and Mauritius.

See also: Flamingo Flower

Tiare (Tahitian gardenia)

A white pinwheel with a soft, sweet scent, worn behind the ear in Tahiti and the Cook Islands and steeped in coconut oil.

Frangipani (plumeria)

Waxy white, yellow and pink flowers that drop whole under the tree. Used in Hawaiian lei and Balinese offerings.

See also: Plumeria alba, Frangipani

Mogra (Arabian jasmine)

Round white buds strung into gajra for the hair in India. Sampaguita in the Philippines and melati in Indonesia.

See also: Arabian jasmine

Bird of paradise

Orange and blue flowers shaped like a crested bird's head. From South Africa, and planted all over Los Angeles.

See also: Giant white bird of paradise

Madhumalti (Rangoon creeper)

Hanging clusters that open white at dusk and turn pink, then red, over the next days. Common on Indian gates and walls.

Bougainvillea

Papery magenta, orange and white bracts over walls and gates. At its fullest in dry, sunny weather.

See also: Paperflower

Wisteria

Long hanging chains of mauve or white, scented, on house fronts and over the great trellises of Japanese parks.

See also: Chinese wisteria, American wisteria

Marsh marigold

Large glossy buttercups at the edges of ponds, ditches and wet woods in early spring.

See also: Caltha

Moth orchid

Arching sprays of flat white or pink flowers that last for months. The usual pot orchid, and Indonesia's moon orchid.

See also: Phalaenopsis schilleriana, Phalaenopsis sanderiana

Cymbidium orchid

Tall spikes of waxy flowers in the cool season. Grown in the Himalayan foothills and treasured in China for centuries.

See also: Boat orchid

Noble dendrobium

White and purple flowers all along cane-like stems in spring. It grows on trees from the Himalaya to southern China.

See also: Cooktown orchid, Unscented dendrobium

Foxtail orchid (kopou phool)

A long hanging tail of pink-spotted flowers. Women in Assam wear it in the hair for the Bihu festival in April.

See also: Foxtail orchid

Early purple orchid

Purple spikes above spotted leaves in European woods and old grassland, often among bluebells.

See also: Early Purple Orchid

Vanda Miss Joaquim

A pink and violet hybrid orchid that flowers all year in full sun. Singapore's national flower.

See also: Waling-waling, Vanda falcata

Kalanchoe

Clusters of small red, orange, pink or yellow flowers over thick leaves. A pot plant from Madagascar that blooms as days are short.

Vygie (ice plant)

Low succulent mats that vanish under glossy pink, purple and orange daisies in the South African spring. They open in sun.

See also: Mesembryanthemum

Desert rose (adenium)

Pink and red trumpets on a swollen grey trunk. From Africa and Arabia, and a popular pot plant in India and Thailand.

See also: Desert rose, Impala lily